This fall harvest salad is bursting with fresh fall flavors! Crispy apples, juicy pomegranates, pecans, and goat cheese tossed in a white balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is crunchy, smooth, sweet and savory. Great option for the autumn holidays like Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah, and Sukkot!
6cupsromaine lettucedry and cut into bite-sized pieces, or 6 handfuls
⅓cuppecanstoasted and chopped
¼cupcrumbled goat or feta cheese
½pomegranate seeds/arilsor half container of pomegranate arils
1avocadopeeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
1small applelike Honeycrisp, Gala, or Cameo, remove core and cut into small chunks or short, thin strips
½lemon, the juice of
2teaspoonsthinly sliced fresh basil or tarragonOptional
Instructions
Dressing
Measure all the salad dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid. Shake well to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your palate if needed. Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use. Dressing can be made a couple days in advance. Shake well again before using.
Assemble salad
Prep the ingredients first so that the salad can be assembled quickly.
The lettuce, nuts, cheese, and pomegranate can be prepared earlier in the day if desired or before serving is fine too. Cut the apple, avocado, and herb (optional) last, no longer than an hour before serving. Squeeze lemon juice on the apple and avocado to help prevent browning.
Take out a flat, wide bowl (like a pasta serving bowl) or a serving platter. Place the lettuce in the bowl. Shake the salad dressing in the jar and then use a spoon to drizzle some of the dressing over the lettuce and gently mix. Spread the lettuce out in a flat layer. Next evenly sprinkle the rest of the ingredients one at a time over the top of the lettuce. Give the salad dressing a stir with a spoon and drizzle dressing over the toppings. You will have extra dressing left to serve on the side. Serve as soon as possible.
Notes
I prefer to serve a salad in a flat, wide bowl or a platter so that the toppings can't sink to the bottom. Leaving all the toppings on the top makes for a colorful presentation.
If you are in a hurry, you can use a bottled salad dressing. This salad is good with a wide variety of dressings including any vinaigrette or Ranch.
Feel free to personalize this salad because this recipe is so flexible. For example, use arugula or baby spinach instead of lettuce. Substitute a different nut like walnut or almond slivers work well. Leave out the avocado or pomegranate if you can't get one in your area. Use pear instead of apple. So many options work.
Taste the salad and adjust it to your liking. Maybe you like more salt (I tend to salt lightly). Maybe you are really into cheese and prefer more. This recipe is a guide to your dream salad.